WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/54 
12 July 2007 
 (07-2970) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
FAO/WHO CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES IN FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY 
COVERING THE PERIOD  JULY 2006 – JUNE 2007 (PREPARED BY FAO AND WHO)
1 
 
 
 The following information was provided by the Codex  at the TBT Committee meeting of 
5  July 2007 under Agenda Item 4 (Updating by Observers). 
 
 
_______________ 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. During the past year various initiatives have been undertaken or continued by FAO and 
WHO, in collaboration with relevant part ner organizations and institutions, to: 
• further enhance the respective roles of the ag riculture and health sectors in ensuring the 
quality and safety of the food supply; 
• strengthen FAO’s and WHO’s role in convening neutral fora for negotiation and for exchange 
of information and experiences in th e field of food safety and quality;  
• further strengthen cooperation and collaborati on between the two organizations and with 
other partners in the field of food safety and quality; and  
• upgrade the capacity of developing member countries in food safety and food quality 
assurance and support their effective participation in Codex work. 
 2. Information on FAO’s and WHO’s main cap acity building activities in food safety and 
quality during the reporting period is provided below.  
II. FAO/WHO GLOBAL FORUM OF FOOD SAFETY REGULATORS 
3. A preparatory meeting for a possible third FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety 
Regulators was held in Geneva, Switz erland, in conjunction with the 29
th Session of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission.  The purpose of the preparatory meeting was a preliminary discussion on 
the objective, format, content and funding of a possible third Global Forum.  The meeting 
unanimously recommended that a thorough evaluation of  GF-1 and GF-2 should be conducted prior to 
convening GF-3.  A survey to evaluate the impa ct of the FAO/WHO Global Fora of Food Safety 
Regulators has been undertaken by the joint secretariat, the results of which will be presented at a side 
event to be held during the current session  of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
                                                      
1 Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Thirtieth Session,  
2 – 7 July 2007. G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 2  
 
  A. T
ECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORTING MATERIAL FOR CAPACITY BUILDING  
4. FAO and WHO are engaged in a programme of technical assistance activities and projects at 
national, regional and internationa l levels.  The areas covered in clude strengthening food control 
systems, training of food control officials and tec hnical staff (food control managers, food inspectors, 
and food analysts), enhancement of food control laboratory capabilities, implementation of risk 
analysis and risk assessment of microbiological  hazards in food, support in establishing national 
Codex committees, policy advice and establishment of  regulatory frameworks.  Detailed information 
is available from: www.fao.org/agn/agn/food/mee tings/workshops 2006_en.stm.  Furthermore, fresh 
fruits and vegetables and coffee quality and safety, mycotoxin prevention and control, implementation 
of the FAO/WHO Guidance to Governments on the Application of HACCP in Small and/or Less 
Developed Businesses, HACCP in aquaculture, traceab ility of fish and fish products, good practices 
for the feed industry, prevention of BSE and other zoonotic diseases and others are included.  
5. Following the success of the Codex Training Course funded by the Codex Trust Fund in 
December 2005 (San José, Costa Ri ca), further support to training activities was provided by the 
Codex Trust Fund  during 2006 and early 2007 incl uding the 3-day training course held in Rabat, 
Morocco from 20 to 22 January 2007, (prior to the last session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating 
Committee for Africa) to facilitate wider dissemination of the Codex Training Package and supplement other FAO/WHO training courses on this subject.   
6. FAO and WHO are involved in supporting food and clinical laboratories in the Americas’ 
region through the INFAL (Inter-American Network of Food Analysis Laboratories), www.panalimentos.org/ rilaa/flash/rilaa.asp.  Two subregional TCP projects were implemented to 
strengthen laboratory quality assistance for RILAA laws.  In collaboration with WHO and the CDC 
through the PulseNet Latin America network (fingerprinting of food-borne disease by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)), www.panalimentos.org/pulsen et, fourteen countries actively participate in 
the network.  Three training courses have been pe rformed in the laboratory protocols and database 
management.  A regional database of PFGE profiles has been established.  The American chapter of 
the WHO Global Programme for Surveillance of Salmonella  and other Enteric Infections (WHO-
GSS), www.panalimentos.org/salmsurv has accomplish ed the three cycles of courses in standardized 
protocols for Salmonella  and Campylobacter  and has begun the fourth round including new 
pathogens, E. coli  O157 and Shigella .  Furthermore, the programme now includes training in tools to 
assess the burden of food-borne diseases. 
7. FAO is currently conducting a programme for improving the quality and safety of fresh fruits 
and vegetables, which focuses on the application of  good practices (GAP, GMP, and GHP) to prevent 
hazards at appropriate points in the fresh fruit and vegetable chain (production and post-harvest stages 
- food chain approach ).  Activities for awareness raising and tr aining at the national level have been 
initiated through the implementation of National Action Plans.  Four case studies (Colombia, Costa 
Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay) on the implementa tion of quality and safety schemes have been 
finalized. FAO has prepared a Training Package (available in  CD-ROM and printed format), 
providing information that can be used by countr ies to develop training programmes and implement 
safety and quality requirements to suit their specifi c needs and thus enhance their capability to apply 
Codex guidelines and standards, meet importers requirements, as well as improve the quality and 
safety of fresh produce on the domestic market.  An on-line database (also produced as a CD-ROM) 
with over 800 documents related to the safety and qu ality of fresh fruits and vegetables is also now 
available. See also www.fao.org/ag/agn/index_e n.htm.  WHO has updated the GMP-HACCP and 
auditing teaching material in Portuguese and Spanish.  With this new teaching material a round of train-the-trainers in the Central American regi on has been accomplished in collaboration with other 
international agencies (IICA and OIRSA).   G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  8. FAO and WHO are engaged in the developmen t of a number of manuals, guidelines and 
training materials to facilitate the capacity building ef fort.  These materials are particularly relevant to 
policy makers responsible for strengthening food c ontrol programmes.  Most are developed jointly 
except for a few which are prepar ed under specific field projects operated either by FAO or WHO. 
These materials include the following: 
• Improving the Safety and Quality of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables training manual and 
resource database (available from FAO web pag es or as a CD-ROM in Chinese, English, 
French  and - see further description above); 
• “Food Safety Risk Analysis: A guide for national food safety authorities” was published in 
English in 2006 (FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 87)  and will be available in French and 
Spanish in mid-2007. An accompanying CD-ROM comprising a slide presentation for training, being finalized; 
• FAO has begun work on a CD-Rom based tec hnical resource package on food hygiene and 
quality assurance. The target audience for th e resource package includes governmental and 
non-governmental organizations that  provide training and other technical support to small 
and medium-scale businesses on programmes of food hygiene and quality assurance;  
• WHO, in collaboration with IICA, has finalized the instrument Performance, Vision, Strategy 
to evaluate the performance of food safety sy stems.  The instrument has been tested 
successfully in Ecuador and Peru.  The instrument  is available in hard copy under request to: 
infopanalimentos@fos.ops-oms.org;  
• The FAO tool “Strengthening the capacity of national food control systems: Guidelines to 
assess capacity building needs” was published in hard copy and on the AGNS website in 2006 
and will be released in French and Spanish in mid-2007. The guidelines were pilot tested 
under AGNS and Standards and Trade Developm ent Facility (STDF) projects in Benin, 
Cameroon, Kenya, Myanmar, Tanzania and Uga nda and positive feedback was received;   
• FAO, together with WHO and ICD, have  developed a Basic Awareness Course on 
Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA). The pr imary objective of this course is to acquaint 
governments with the general concept of risk an alysis and how MRA fits into the framework 
of Microbiological Risk Management (MRM);  
• Enhancing Participation in Codex Activities - An FAO/WHO Training Pack designed to 
strengthen national food safety and quality syst ems through enhanced participation in the 
Codex process.  It should serve as a reference document for those involved in national Codex 
activities and as a training tool on Codex.  A CD -ROM containing the visual aids and relevant 
reference documents is included in the manual.   It is available in several languages at: 
www.fao.org/ag/AGN/ food/capacity_codex_en.stm.   An e-learning training course on Codex 
is under active preparation based on this Traini ng Package and is due to be finalized mid-
2007, the training course will be accessible through FAO and WHO websites as well as on 
CD-ROM;  
• The FAO/WHO guidance document for government s on the application of HACCP, in small 
and less developed businesses (SLDBs) was finalized.  The document is now available at http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/food/quality_haccp_en.htm and at: www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/fs_manage ment/haccp_sidbs/en/index.html; as well as 
in a printed version in English, French and Span ish.  The guidelines are also being translated 
into Chinese.  An FAO/WHO workshop on this matter was held in Gaborone, Botswana in 
December 2006.  Similar workshops are planned for late 2007 in Latin America and in Asia; 
• 
FAO and WHO have been engaged in prepari ng a standardized training package to assist 
countries in implementing relevant Codex te xts related to the food safety assessment of 
products derived from modern biotechnology.  This training package may include a pilot 
training manual package containing both theory and practical examples of risk assessments of 
foods derived from modern biotechnology and a guide for training regulators; G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  • The FAO training manual on “Cost-effective technologies and good management practices 
for improving quality and safety in small and medium agro-industries”, developed by the Agricultural Support System Division (AGS) was applied and validated in the framework of 
an AGS project in Nicaragua with the particip ation of technicians and managers of SME and 
trainers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.  After successful 
capacity building events and positive feedback fro m participants, the training manual is being 
finalized for publication as a CD-Rom;  
• A cross-country study on capacity building and i nvestments needed  to comply with EurepGAP 
requirements was carried out in Chile, Kenya, South Africa, and Malaysia by AGS. Lessons 
learnt from the studies show the need to upgr ade the overall management systems and build 
capabilities at different levels in order to comply  with these requirements. A synthesis report on 
the cases is under preparation; 
• WHO has issued "A Guide for Healthy Food Ma rkets", which contains an annex on measures 
to reduce transmission of avian influenza in wet markets in developing countries.  The publication is available at www.who.int/food safety/capacity/healthy_marketplaces/en/;  
• WHO has completed the development of the GEMS/Food Consumption Cluster Diets, which 
will be used by JECFA and JMPR in estimati ng long-term exposure to chemicals in food.  
The diets are available at www.w ho.int/foodsafety/chem/gems/en/.  
 
B. I
NFORMATION EXCHANGE MECHANISMS  
9. The International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (www.ipfsaph.org) - a joint 
initiative with IPPC, OIE, Codex and WTO - has conti nued to develop.  Numbers of page requests to 
the website on a monthly basis regularly exceed 400,000; numbers of visitors per month are typically in excess of 35,000.  The portal is adding a number of new data sets on pes ticides and food additives 
and now contains over 25,000 records, while collabora tion has been strengthened with the EU through 
contacts with DG Trade's Exports Helpdesk.  
10. INFOSAN, the International Food Safety Aut horities Network, developed and maintained by 
WHO in collaboration with FAO, was inaugurated in  October 2004.  Identified as a priority need by 
both Codex and the World Health Assembly, 154 Memb er States have now joined the network.  Since 
its creation, INFOSAN has responded to requests fo r information on how to develop and maintain 
food control systems by providing INFOSAN Inform ation notes on timely food safety topics.  
INFOSAN EMERGENCY, the emergency arm of the network, performs global surveillance of food 
contamination and food-borne disease events.  Every month, the INFOSAN identifies an average of 
157 notices of food contamination and food-born e disease events with potential international 
implications.  On average, about 11 food notices re quire follow up activity by INFOSAN.  On average 
1 to 2 INFOSAN Emergency Alerts are sent out to countries receiving contaminated food each month. 
During the past year, INFOSAN Emergency Alerts a bout the global distribution of contaminated food 
have gone to all Member States. 
11. The WHO International Health Regulations (IHR)  have recently been updated to cover agents 
causing serious health risks connected to food in in ternational trade.  The adapted IHR version will 
come into effect by June 2007. 
12. FAO also supports the development and maintenance of Fish Port, a web-based system for 
dissemination of scientific and technical information on fish safety and quality. 
  G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  C. INTERNATIONAL EVENTS  
13. A joint FAO/WHO/OIE Expert Consultation on  Antimicrobial Use in Aquaculture and 
Antimicrobial Resistance was held from 13 to 16 June 2006 in Seoul, Korea.  The Consultation 
addressed all aspects related to regulation, marketi ng, distribution and use of antimicrobials in 
aquaculture, the magnitude of their use in aquacult ure and the public health impact of such use.  
Further information on this consultation may be obtained from:  
www.fao.org/ag/agn/foodrisk_antimicrobial_en.stm. 
14. FAO participated as part of the scientific advi sory committee of the EC Mycoglobe project at 
the International Conference on "Advances on genomics,  biodiversity and rapid systems for detection 
of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins" which took place in Monopoli, Italy from 26 to 30 September 
2006.  The conference was organized by the Ins titute of Sciences of Food Production ISPA-CNR. 
More information on the conference, entitled "Adva nces on genomics, biodiversity and rapid systems 
for detection of toxigenic fungi a nd mycotoxins" is available from: 
www.ispa.cnr.it/mycoglobe/c onference/index.php?id_conf=13. 
15. FAO, in collaboration with the Government of Canada, represente d by Health Canada, 
organized an international workshop on Safe ty Assessment of Food Derived from Modern 
Biotechnology in Ottawa, Canada, from 31 October to  1 November 2006.  The workshop was one of a 
series of biosafety-related activities within the Biosecurity  framework.  Further information on the 
workshop may be obtained from: foodquality@fao.org. 
16. FAO held an international training works hop on Assessing Capacity Building Needs in 
National Food Control Systems in Rome from 28 N ovember to 1 December 2006.  The purpose of 
this workshop was to train food safety regulators as  users and facilitators to apply new FAO food 
safety needs assessment tools.  Twelve food safety regulators from Africa, Asia, the Near East, Latin 
America and the Caribbean participated actively in this event.  During the workshop, participants 
worked in small groups to apply the FAO Quick Guide to assess capacity building needs to three 
different country scenarios.  The report of this workshop is available at 
ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agn/food/mee tings/2006/fao_tot_workshop.pdf.  
17. FAO co-organized with the International Uni on of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) a 
side event on mycotoxin sampling for food and feed during the XIIth International Symposium on 
Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins in Istanbul, Turkey from 21 to 25 May 2007 at which the newly developed training video was launched. 
D. G
LOBAL PROJECTS  
18. The Government of Norway signed a Progra mme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with FAO, 
with the overall objective of supporting the Mille nnium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing 
countries through the work of FAO, for the period 2005-2006.  One of the principal objectives of this project is “Improved Food Safety and Quality at National Level and along the Food Chain”.  
Activities are being conducted in Burkina Faso, Cambodia Kenya, Laos, Nicaragua, Tanzania and 
Uganda.  Outcomes to be reached  include: acceptance and use of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP); 
capacity building and awareness raising for integr ated natural resource governance and management 
(SARED), support to food quality and safety and Codex related work and guidelines, advice and 
instruments related to small-scale/artisanal fisheries implemented/developed. 
19. Under the same Programme Cooperation Agre ement, Norway is supporting a series of 
activities aimed at strengthening FAO’s earlier work on the integration of food safety, animal health, 
plant health and biosafety under the biosecurity framewo rk.  In this context, a three-part Biosecurity 
Toolkit (comprising an introductory text, a bio security capacity assessment guide and a biosecurity G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 6  
 
  risk analysis manual) will be available in mi d-2007, a series of regional training workshops on 
assessing biosecurity capacity is taking place in Latin America, Asia and Africa (May 2007), and other activities to assess biosecurity  capacity needs and strengthen an integrated biosecurity approach 
are underway (including in Bhutan, El Salvador, Haiti and Panama).  
E. G
LOBAL TOOLS UNDER DEVELOPMENT  
20. FAO/AGNS are finalizing a manual on risk based food inspection and auditing of food safety 
management systems.  
21. FAO, in collaboration with the Italian Instituto  Superiore di Sanità, is finalizing a video on 
mycotoxin sampling for food and feed. 
 III. REGIONAL AND COUNTRY LEVEL CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES 
A. AFRICA 
1. FAO Regional Activities 
22. A subregional training of trainers’ course on the application of good hygiene practices 
throughout the coffee chain was held in Zambia in July 2006 and included participants from Malawi, 
Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  This traini ng course was the final activity under a CFC-funded 
project on “Improving coffee quality through the preven tion of mould growth” which started in 2001.  
23. FAO, in collaboration with the Tunisian Ag ence Nationale de Contrôle Sanitaire et 
Environnemental, organized a subregional works hop on “Improving the quality and safety of fresh 
fruits and vegetables in North Africa” in Hammame t, Tunisia, from 11 to 16 September 2006.  The 
workshop was intended for the French speaking countr ies in the Near East and provided capacity 
building using the recently developed FAO traini ng pack on “Improving the quality and safety of 
fresh fruits and vegetables”.    
24. FAO convened a Workshop on the Application of HACCP in Small and Less Developed 
Food Businesses in Gaborone, Botswana from 28 Novemb er to 1 December 2006. Participants from 
the public and private sectors were invited to atte nd from Botswana, Lesotho,  Namibia, South Africa, 
Zambia and Zimbabwe. The workshop discussed the FAO/WHO Guidance to Governments on the 
Application of HACCP in small and less devel oped food businesses and develo ped practical measures 
for their application at national and regional le vels.  Further information is available from: 
foodquality@fao.org. 
25. FAO, in collaboration with the Tanzania Bureau  of Standards (TBS), organized a subregional 
Workshop on Capacity Building of National F ood Control Systems. The workshop took place in 
Bagamoyo, Tanzania from 4 to 8 December 2006. Co re national stakeholders from Kenya, Tanzania 
and Uganda participated. The main objectives of th e workshop were to: discuss the current country 
situation as assessed by international and national consultants; further review to finalize the draft of 
the 5-year strategic national action plans; and to  review and evaluate the recently developed FAO 
Food Inspection Manual. The project was funded by the Government of Norway through the 
Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA).   Further information may be obtained from: 
foodquality@fao.org.  
26. FAO/AGNS, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, South Africa, organized a sub-
regional workshop on Capacity Development to Im prove Safety and Quality in Fresh Fruits and  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Vegetables from 12 to 16 February 2007.  Core national stakeholders from Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, 
South Africa and Tanzania participated.  The main  objectives of the workshop were: to validate newly 
developed guidelines on the cost-effective applicati on of hygienic practices for complying with food 
safety requirements in international and domestic st andards and regulations for selected fresh produce 
chains (mango, citrus, tomato and cabbage); and to  train trainers on cost-effective application of 
hygienic practices (GAP, GHP, GMP and HACCP).  Th e project was also funded by the Government 
of Norway through the Programme Cooperation Ag reement (PCA) with FAO.  The guidelines are 
scheduled to be published by the end of 2007. 
27. A “Regional Workshop on Good Agriculture Pr actices in Eastern and Southern Africa: 
Practices and Policies” was organized by FAO-UN CTAD-Kenya National Task Force on Horticulture 
in Nairobi, Kenya from 6 to 9 March 2007.  The ob jectives of the workshop were to: i) Facilitate 
exchange of experiences on challenges and opport unities of GAP and strategic options for E&S 
Africa; ii) Draw lessons to prepare recommendations  and guidance for implementation at the national 
level; iii) Identify potential areas of cooperation on GAP at the regional level; iv) Discuss follow-up 
activities and coordination needs by donors and othe r actors.  Participants came from Burundi, 
Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia. and Zimbabwe.  The project was 
funded by the Government of Norway through the Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with 
FAO and implemented by AGS, AGD and SDA technical  units.  More information is available from 
the GAP website: www.fao.org/prods/GAP/gapindex_en.htm. 
28. FAO organized a regional training workshop on an integrated approach to food safety, animal 
health and plant health (biosecurity) in Accra, Gh ana from 30 May to 1 June 2007. The workshop will 
train selected sector experts from English-speaki ng countries in Africa on the use of the new FAO 
Biosecurity Toolkit. 
 
2. WHO Regional Activities 
29. Resolution AFR/RC53/R5 on food safety guided the work of the WHO African region.  The 
key issues that were addressed included: limited ca pacity for food-borne disease surveillance; poor 
participation of countries in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission; outdated food 
legislation; limited education in food safety and l ack of awareness about the public health implication 
of unsafe food exposure to mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins through food.  There is increased 
participation of the health sector in food safety activ ities at the country level and this is evidenced by 
the presence of Food Safety Focal Points at the WH O country offices and the Ministries of Health in 
the region.   
30. WHO prepared a Strategy on Food Safety for the WHO African Region, entitled “Food 
Safety and Health: A strategy for the WHO African Region. The WHO Regional Committee for 
Africa will discuss and adopt a resolution on the Regi onal Food Safety Strategy in August 2007. The 
objectives of the document are: to provide a platfo rm for advocacy for food safety; provide Member 
States with a framework for the development and implementation of national policies for food safety 
and facilitate the development of intersectoral collaboration and partnerships for food safety.  
31. Several countries including the Republic of C ongo and Lesotho strengthened their national 
Codex Committees.  Algeria prepared and launched its national food safety action plan with support 
from WHO while Equatorial Guinea prepared na tional norms and standards for food hygiene.  
Support was provided to Kenya to review their draft food safety policy in July 2006.  WHO is 
working with the Swedish International Developmen t Agency to organize an Advance International 
Training Course on Quality Infrastructure for Food Safety  in 2007.  This is specifically for Burundi, 
Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ta nzania, Uganda and Zamb ia through bilateral 
agreements with these countries.  The first phase of  the course, which is building capacity for food G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 8  
 
  safety and supporting the countries to prepare their na tional food safety policies, took place in January 
2007.  Phase 2 is planned for September 2007. 
32. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Madagascar, Se negal and Togo conducted a number of food 
safety capacity building training workshops, incl uding workshops on food-borne disease surveillance, 
the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, food in spection and Codex Alimentarius. Lesotho and the 
Republic of Congo re-launched th eir national Codex Committees. In  collaboration with FAO and 
WHO, the Codex Secretariat organized a Subregio nal workshop on sources of Codex information in 
October 2006 in Brazzaville, Congo which was attende d by Chad, the Republic of Congo and the 
Democratic Republic of Congo. An informal consu ltation for regional cooperation was organized in 
September 2006 for Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Moro cco, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda by the US 
Codex Office. 
33. There were a number of outbreaks, including the outbreak of acute aflatoxicosis in Kenya and 
cholera in a number of countries. Kenya was provi ded with technical support for investigation, 
management and control of the outbreak. In partic ular, resources were provided for the strengthening 
of the National Public Health Reference Laborat ory for monitoring of food, serum and other 
biological specimens for aflatoxins.   
34.  Cameroon and Ghana received support to atte nd the Fourth International Total Diet Study 
Training Course and Workshop in Beijing, China in October 2006.  
35.  A Global Salm-Surv training course for The Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the 
Seychelles was held in January 2007 in Madagascar. In collaboration with WHO, the Institut Pasteur, 
Paris organized a workshop on Salmonella  Antisera Production in November 2006 which was 
attended by scientists from Cameroon and Cote d’Iv oire.  Support was provided to several countries 
during outbreaks of food-borne diseases including out breaks of acute aflatoxicosis and cholera. 
36.  In response to the detection of H5N1 influen za virus in certain countries in the region, the 
regional office supported all the countries to deve lop their national action plans for management of 
epidemics and a possible pandemic.  By October 2006, 38 countries had prepared their national action 
plans while the remainder are at different stages of preparation including two which are still in the 
preparatory stage. Two regional conferences were also organized to determine the way forward. 
37.  A Regional Guide for the Development and Im plementation of Food Law is being finalized 
and a number of countries have prepared/drafted food safety national action plans and policies.  A 
Regional Guide for Microbiological Monitoring of food was prepared.  A document on the adaptation of the WHO Five Keys Manual, Bringing Food Sa fety Home for African schools was drafted.  
Several information and advocacy materials fo r food safety were developed and disseminated, 
including a regional newsletter. Information has also been collected from countries to document 
national food safety activities.   
38.  As part of the efforts to promote the exchange  of information and best practices, the second 
edition of the regional newsletter was published a nd information was collected from countries to 
document national food safety activities.  A database on food safety issues was also started in order to 
establish an evidence-based system.  The Regional Office created and disseminated an information 
series on a number of topics. These are available at http://www.afro.who.int/des/fos/index.html. 
39. The WHO Five Keys for Safer Foods were implemented in Botswana, Gambia, Guinea, 
Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique and the Republic of Congo and an adaptation of the five keys manual 
was prepared.  A number of countries, including Ghana and Mali, instituted the celebration of food 
safety week.   G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  3. National Activities 
(a) FAO field projects 
40. Since 2000, the special regional project for food  security has been implemented jointly with 
the Commission of UEMOA and other technical units in FAO (AGAH, AGNS, AGPP, ESCP and LEGN); its objectives include: preparation of harm onized regulations covering food safety, animal 
and plant health, as well as capacity building among member countries on these issues and the 
provision of basic equipment where needed to ru n initial control activities.  The regulations were 
approved by the Ministers Council in April 2007 in  Lomé, Togo, and a regional training course on 
planning and delivery of sanitary surveys will be impl emented in July 2007 to allow the test run of 
food control actions in the eight countries during the second half of 2007.  
41. Under its Technical Cooperation Programme  (TCP), FAO has implemented numerous 
projects on critical aspects of food control in many countries. FAO/TCP is designed to assist Member Nations in solving their most pressing development needs. In the field of food safety these mainly 
include: strengthening of national food control syst ems, enhancing laboratory facilities and analysis 
capacities and improving the ability of member c ountries to comply with new trade regulations, 
implementing Codex work, etc.   
42. An FAO/AGNS project was approved in May 2004 to support the implementation of a 
strategy to control and monitor the quality and safety of food products in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The project is scheduled to continue until June 2007.  The objective is to improve the 
food safety and quality in the Congo, by setting the basis of a national food surveillance and control 
policy and defining a strategy for implementing an efficient food control system.  
43. An FAO/AGNS project to Support the Informal Food Sector in Guinea began in June 2003 
and was completed in Decem ber 2006.  The objective of the assistan ce was to help the Government to 
define the strategies necessary to improve the quality  of food prepared and sold on the street.  The 
project carried out surveys and pre-test feasible actions to improve the safety and quality of food sold on the street.  
44. FAO/AGNS commenced work on a project in early 2006 to assist in the control of 
mycotoxins in South Africa.  The objective of the project is to carry out a preliminary assessment of 
the level of contamination by mycotoxins (mainl y OTA and DON in selected commodities) and to 
enhance the government’s capabiliti es in the sampling, monitoring, prevention and control of 
mycotoxins in foodstuffs with a view to en sure maximum consumer protection and promote 
international trade in foodstuffs.  
45. An FAO/AGNS project was approved for Morocco in July 2006.  It aims at creating and 
organizing a National Consumer Centre to provide information to consumers on food related matters 
and promote the involvement of the consumer in promoting food quality and safety.  The project is 
expected to run until November 2007. 
46. An FAO/AGNS project on “Support to the strengthening of the national Codex Committee in 
Madagascar” was approved in May 2006 for the durati on of 12 months.  Its global objective is to help 
the government in its efforts to strengthen food qualit y and health control activities and to promote the 
exports of agricultural products in the country.  
47. FAO/AGST is implementing a project that we nt operational in April 2006 to provide 
technical assistance and capacity building in sust ainable production and micro processing of edible 
oilseeds in Uganda.  The objective of the project  is to enhance farmer returns from production, G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 10  
 
  processing and marketing of edible oils, especially sunflower oil, through improving finished product 
quality. 
(b) Direct cooperation with developing countries 
48. At the request of the Government of Camer oon, FAO is providing advice and support to the 
Centre Pasteur du Cameroon, Laboratoire de  Chimie de Hygiène Environnement, for the 
implementation of a study on exposure of the inhab itants of Yaoundé to pesticide residues using a 
total diet study (TDS) protocol which considers FAO/WHO recommendations on this matter. 
49. During 2006 FAO/AGNS provided direct assist ance to the Government of Mozambique in 
the establishment of a national Codex committee.  F AO/AGNS also assisted in the organization of a 
stakeholder’s consultation and workshop. 
50. FAO/AGNS provided direct assistance to the Government of Djibouti during the second half 
of 2006 in the organization of a national Codex committee. 
51. FAO/AGNS, jointly with the Institute of Sciences and Food Inspection, Bari, Italy, 
contributed to a national survey on mycotoxin contamination of food in Nigeria. 
52. A request to FAO (AGNS) has been received fro m the Government of Cote d’Ivoire to 
formulate a project to strengthen the food control syst em.  This project is in the formulation stage.   
53. A request has been received from the Government of Rwanda to address the hygienic 
handling of foods of animal origin.  This project  is in the formulation stage. The request was 
submitted to the FAO Animal Production Service, in collaboration with AGNS.   
54. The Government of Senegal has requested assistance from FAO/AGNS in strengthening and 
supporting Quality Assurance Systems in Food Safety Laboratories.  The request is currently in the 
approval process.   
55. Funding is currently being sought for a s ubregional programme proposal developed by 
FAO/AGNS to facilitate trade in the Southern  African Development Co mmunity (SADC) member 
states through food standards and food safety management.   
56. Following a request from the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to AGNS, a TCP project 
for strengthening the capacity for improving the safety and quality of fresh fruits and vegetables 
produced in Tanzania is currently under formulation.  
57. A request was recently sent by the Ministry of  Health of the Government of Mozambique 
requesting technical assistance to strengthen the qua lity assurance system of their National Laboratory 
for Food and Water Hygiene (LNHAA).  Terms of refe rence have been prepared for an initial audit 
mission as well as for the future project formulation.  
58. A request to FAO/AGST and AGNS has been re ceived from the Government of Niger to 
rehabilitate the parastatal agency that maintain s cereal stocks and build its operational capacity, 
through updating quality assurance laboratories and cereal stock management procedures and 
conducting staff training. 
59. A request has been received by AGNS from the Government of Guinea for a project aiming at 
strengthening the National Codex Committee.  The pr oject proposal is currently in the formulation 
stage.  G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  B. ASIA 
1. FAO Regional Activities 
60. FAO is supporting the establishment of a regional web-based network for microbiological 
risk assessment in Asia. The network will be hoste d by an academic institution in the region. The 
purpose of the network is to strengthen capacity  building on MRA among risk managers, risk 
assessors and others as well as facilita te the exchange of contacts, information, tools and materials, 
experiences and expertise on MRA in countries in Asia.  
61. FAO/AGNS collaborated with the Heilong jiang Provincial People's Government, the 
American Food Safety Consortium and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development of 
Alberta, Canada, in the joint organization of th e “International Forum on Food Quality and Safety 
China 2006”, which was held in Harbin, China, from 15 to 18 June 2006.  The aim of this forum was 
to strengthen food quality and safety and promote in ternational exchange a nd cooperation in food 
science. Further details on this forum may be  obtained from: www.hljagri.gov.cn/IFFQSC2006. 
62. FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of China organized a five-day national workshop for 
China on a practical approach to improving the quali ty and safety of fresh fruits and vegetables.  The 
workshop aimed to enhance information access and exchange as a means to improve the safe 
production, harvesting, handling, storage and mark eting of fresh fruits and vegetables. Further 
information on the workshop  is available from:  
www.fao.org/ag/agn/food/meeti ngs_workshops2006_en.stm. 
63. FAO participated in the APEC Workshop on capacity building for developing member 
economies in applying SPS measures in Hanoi, Viet Nam, 26 to 28 July 2006. FAO’s contribution to 
the workshop highlighted the organization’s technical  assistance related to Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures (SPS) and recommendations on strategy for developing countries to meet existing 
obligations of the SPS Agreement.   
64. FAO participated in the “The First Interna tional Conference on Halal Science: Halal Food-
Halal Nutrition”, Bangkok, Thailand, from 1 to 2 September 2006.  The conference was organized by 
the Halal Science Centre and the Faculty of A llied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, 
Thailand in cooperation with the Nutrition Associati on of Thailand under the Patronage of Her Royal 
Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the Food and Nutrition Partnership of Thailand.  
65. FAO participated in the “International Symposium on Production Management for 
Agricultural and Livestock Produce Safety” in Se oul, Korea from 12 to 15 September 2006 organized 
by the Rural Development Administration (RDA), Ko rea.  The Symposium aimed at identifying the 
international status of production management and establishing an inte grated management system for 
agricultural and livestock safety.  
66. A Regional Training Course on “Village Leve l Food Processing – Empowerment through 
Enterprise Skills Development” was held in Hanoi,  Viet Nam, from 2 to 20 October 2006 at the Viet 
Nam Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Po st-harvest Technology (VIAEP).  Participants in 
attendance were 18 trainees from Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.  
67. FAO/WHO, with support from the Industria l Council for Development (ICD) and the 
SEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, jointly organized a Basic Awareness Course for Microbi ological Risk Assessment (MRA) in Jakarta, 
Indonesia from 14 to 17 November 2006.  The pur pose of the workshop was to raise awareness 
among policy makers and risk managers on the pr inciples and procedures for microbiological risk 
assessment in the context of risk management. G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 12  
 
  68. FAO/WHO organized a regional workshop for Asia on Food Safety Risk Communication: 
Why and How? in Seoul, Korea in November 2006.   The purpose of the workshop was to provide 
information on food safety risk communication within the framework of risk analysis, including information on definitions, food safety risk comm unication in the development of Codex standards 
and application of the risk analysis principles and guidelines.  
69. FAO, in collaboration with the National Bu reau of Agricultural Commodity and Food 
Standards (ACFS), Ministry of Agriculture a nd Cooperatives, Thailand, organized a regional 
workshop on Codex Information Resources in Bangkok,  Thailand from 13 to 15 December 2006.  The 
objectives of the workshop were to achieve an und erstanding of the role and functioning of Codex, 
strengthen the national Codex Contact  Points, demonstrate and provide training in the use of existing 
information resources on food safety and other SPS i ssues, facilitate the national promotion of food 
safety/SPS information and facilitate the exchange of  food safety information and experiences among 
specialists in the region. 
70. FAO organized a regional training workshop on An  Integrated Approach to Food Safety and 
Animal and Plant Health (Biosecurity) and the As sessment of Capacity Needs in Bangkok from 28 to 
30 May 2007.  The objectives of the workshop were to increase the understanding and knowledge 
about an integrated approach to food safety, animal and plant health and life and biosafety (Biosecurity) among sector experts, equip participan ts with the knowledge and skills to apply the 
FAO Biosecurity Capacity Assessment Tool at the national level and develop a network of experts 
with specialized knowledge and skills on an integr ated Biosecurity approach to facilitate the 
development and delivery of Biosecurity capacity building activities and training at the country and 
regional level.  
 
2. WHO Regional Activities 
71. Technical support was provided to laboratories in a number of countries to improve the 
analytical skills and to enhance laboratory quality assurance. In addition, support was provided to 
enable countries to conduct studies of the extent of food contamination in Bangladesh, Bhutan and 
Thailand.  FOS Collaborating Centres in SEAR also continue to conduct studies and make data from 
studies available to WHO’s Global Environment Monitoring System - Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme (GEMS/Food). 
72. In Indonesia, WHO supported the National Agency for Drug and Food Control in the 
development of seven training modules on food ri sk assessment and to establish a FOS database 
information system, linked to a national network mechanism for Microbiological Risk Assessment. 
73. Nepal and Indonesia took part in an international total diet studies (TDS) course in October 
2006, Beijing, China. A TDS course is planned in Jakarta at the end of 2007 to allow more SEAR 
countries to become familiar with this approach.  
74. In 2004-2005, with WHO support, Bhutan stre ngthened its food safety programme under the 
Ministry of Agriculture, initiating surveillance a nd prevention of food-borne health hazards. Facilities 
for microbiology testing at the National Public  Health laboratory were acquired in 2006. 
75. In response to requests from countries, SEARO developed materials for educating consumers 
on food safety risks and about safe food handling behaviours that can help minimize those risks.  The “Five Keys to Safer Food” poster was translated in 17 regional languages by the national FOS focal 
points (http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section23/Section1001/Section1110.htm).  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 13 
 
 
  76. Public health authorities, small- and medi um-scale food and restaurant business owners/food 
vendors, food and sanitary inspectors, hospitality businesses students, consumer organizations and 
schoolteachers were among the recipients of over 150,000 posters and 5000 booklets, many using 
them in their daily work. 
77. Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Thailand ha ve carried out awareness and training sessions 
to promote food safety amongst street food vendor s (http://foodsafetyindia.nic.in/juicer.htm and 
http://foodsafetyindia.nic.in/acknow.htm). 
78. Following the tsunami, WHO Maldives supported th e Department of Publ ic Health and other 
national authorities in establishing the basis for se tting up the national integrated food safety system 
based on risk analysis principles. Specific training was given to food inspectors in close collaboration 
with the hospitality sector 
(http://www.who.org.mv/LinkFiles/Tsunami_FOS_Maldives_Sparringa_Final _report.pdf). 
79. With support from WHO, in August 2007 Indo nesia will start the implementation of the 
National Healthy Food Market Programme.  The na tional project aims at empowering the market 
communities to set up healthy food markets (HFM) to ensure provision of safe and nutritious food.  
The project will harness the capability of key stakeholde rs to improve bio safety levels to reduce risks 
for spread of AI virus. By end of 2009, 300 traditi onal markets will be officially certified and a total 
of 3000 market managers will be trained http://www.searo.who.int/en/Secti on23/Section1001/Section1110_11528.htm.  
 
3. National Activities 
(a) FAO field projects 
80. A two-year FAO/AGNS TCP project on Strengthening Testing Capability for Food Safety  
which was requested by the Government of China began in late 2004.  The overall objective of the 
project is to protect the health of consumers and to enhance the competitiven ess of their fresh produce 
in the international market through strengthening the country’s capabilities for inspecting, testing and 
monitoring fresh produce for pesticide residues and contaminants.  
81. Phase 2 of an FAO/AGNS TCP project for Mongolia to Strengthen Food Import Control 
commenced in August 2005. The objectives of the proj ect are to establish a nd strengthen the national 
system of control of food impor t quality and safety.  The project addressed the institutional set-up for 
the control of food import in Mongolia and provi ded training to food inspectors, strengthening 
laboratory facilities and training analytical staff associated with border food control.  
82. An FAO-executed trust fund project funded by NZAID commenced in May 2005.  This 
project, “Improving food safety and its management in Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Cambodia” aims to 
help the participating countries to develop or impr ove national food safety policy, strengthen the legal 
framework for food control and build the tec hnical capacities required to enforce food safety 
requirements.  The first of a series of training of trainers courses on food hygiene is scheduled to take 
place in Cambodia in June 2007.  The project also  includes components on food safety education and 
food-borne disease surveillance that will be impl emented in collaboration with the WHO Regional 
Office for Asia. 
83. Two FAO executed trust fund projects funded by  Japan began in February 2007.  These 
projects, “Enhancing food safety by strengthening food inspection systems in the ASEAN countries” 
and “Support to the FAO programme on capacity bu ilding in food safety” aim at strengthening G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 14  
 
  capacity building permitting ASEAN countries to rec ognize and comply with international standards 
and guidelines on food safety, thereby enhancing food safety conditions in the ASEAN countries.  
84. A five-year project with eight components for improving food safety and quality and official 
food control in Bangladesh is currently under formula tion.  This project will take up the conclusions 
and recommendations from the FAO TCP/BGD/2901  project “Strengthening Food Control in 
Bangladesh” which was completed in 2005.  The pr oject will support the Government of Bangladesh 
to develop and strengthen the implementation of a comprehensive and cohere nt national food control 
system that is based on modern scientific principles and practices, and the participation of all relevant 
stakeholders from farm to table.  
85. The implementation of the second phase of the FAO/AGNS TCP project on strengthening 
compliance of the SPS requirements for expanded e xport of fresh fruits and vegetables in Thailand 
commenced in March 2007.  The main activities to be  carried out are a study tour on inspection and 
certification, a mission of a national consultant on food analysis, a component on information 
technology and the final backstopping mission.   
86. A three-year project to strengthen food quality and safety of fresh produce in the Philippines 
is currently under formulation.  The objective of the project is to improve the quality and safety of 
fresh fruits and vegetables produced in the Philippin es and to upgrade the production system to meet 
the SPS measures and Codex safety requirements relate d to microbiological and chemical hazards in 
foods. Special attention will be given to the main  crops banana, mango, pineapple, maize, cassava, 
pumpkin, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.    
 
4. WHO National Activities 
87. As a result of WHO's support to Bangladesh, th e national authorities amended the 1959 “Pure 
Food Ordinance Act”, constituted a National Food Sa fety Advisory Council and established the Pure 
Food Courts in each district of the country.  
88. WHO Bhutan, provided support to enable the Minist ry of Health, in close collaboration with 
the agricultural sector, to acquire and install the capac ity for microbiology testing at the Public Health 
Laboratory.  
89. In Indonesia, WHO supported the National Agency for Drug and Food Control to establish a 
food safety information system linked to a national network, including a mechanism for microbiological risk assessment. Seven training m odules on risk assessment were developed for this 
purpose.  
90. Since 2005, significant support to Indonesia has been provided by WHO Jakarta to the 
Ministry of Health to develop food safety based  awareness and training materials to prevent and 
control the spread of the avian influenza virus in liv e animal markets.  More information is available 
at: http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section23/ Section1001/Section1110_11528.htm. 
91. Following the 2004 Tsunami, WHO Maldives suppor ted the Department of Public Health and 
other national authorities in establishing the basis for setting up the national integrated food safety 
system, based on risk analysis principles.  Specifi c training was given to food inspectors in close 
collaboration with the catering sector. 
92. WHO is currently collaborating with the Asian Development Bank and the State Food and 
Drug Administration of China to strengthen that Ad ministration's coordination capacity and to review 
the current food control situation in China.  At  the same time, WHO is committed to building the  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 15 
 
 
  capacity of health authorities to effectively impl ement their responsibilities in relation to food safety 
in China.  
5. Direct  Advice to Developing Countries 
93. FAO is also assisting the Government of Malays ia in its efforts to enhance their current 
capabilities on risk assessment of chemicals in  food, in particular food additives.  
94. In addition, FAO provided assistance to India through the FAO/UNESCO Microbial 
Resource Centre for Marine Biotechnology (MIRCEN) for the organization of an 
ASM/FAO/UNESCO International Workshop on Mo lecular Techniques in aquaculture and seafood 
safety.  This activity will facilitate efforts of in stitutions from 8 countries from the region to enhance 
the current activities in this field and to contribute  to fill some data identified by JEMRA that are 
relevant for those countries. 
95. During 2006 FAO/AGNS provided direct assistance to the Government of the Philippines in 
the establishment of a national Codex Committee. 
96. The Government of Myanmar requested assi stance from FAO/AGNS in assessing the exact 
needs of the country in the area of food safety and quality in order to improve the national food 
control system in a comprehensive manner.  
97. The Government of Myanmar also requested the support of FAO/AGS to formulate an “Oil 
Crops Development Project", within the framework  of the Government’s cooperation arrangements 
with the OPEC Fund for International Development.  The project will support the enhancement of 
institutional agro-industrial capacity for edible oi l processing and quality assurance, including the 
turn-key establishment of new processing plants and the development of national edible oil standards 
and strengthening of national capacity for oil quality control.   
 
6. Upcoming Activities/Projects 
98. The Government of Pakistan has request ed assistance from FAO (AGNS) for building 
national capacity for food quality and safety.  Specifically, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and 
Livestock (MINFAL) is seeking assistance in revi ewing and revising nationa l SPS laws, remodelling 
animal and plant quarantine services, enhancing the capabilities of reference laboratories, forging 
technical linkages and fostering coope ration with developed economies.  
99. The Government of Pakistan has also request ed assistance from FAO (AGNS) in the area of 
improving the safety and quality of fresh fruits and ve getables.  The request is in the formulation 
phase. 
100. The Government of Sri Lanka has requested  assistance from FAO (AGNS) in the area of 
training in food safety and quality and certification. The request is in the formulation phase. 
C. EUROPE 
1. FAO Regional Activities 
(a) Regional workshops 
101. FAO/WHO, in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland, organized a one-day 
seminar ‘Strengthening  Knowle dge of Codex Procedures and Risk Analysis” prior to CCEURO in G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 16  
 
  January 2007.  The objective of the seminar was to  disseminate informati on on Codex procedures and 
address the importance of risk analysis as a basis for national food control programmes.  The seminar was attended by delegates from Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Pola nd, Lithuania, Serbia, 
and Uzbekistan.  
102. FAO participated in a regional workshop on the Coordination of SPS Procedures and 
Working Group Meetings IV, in Bucharest, Romania in May 2007.  The workshop was organized by 
the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), of the U.S. Department of Commerce. with 
representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo 
(UNMIK), Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.  The workshop addressed means of 
strengthening capacity in the region on planning an d implementation of food control infrastructures, 
improved food safety in food businesses through the application of GHP/HACCP, and addressing the 
need for greater interaction between animal health  and food safety specialists at a national level. 
(b) Regional projects 
103. An FAO project in the South Eastern European  subregion (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldov a and Romania) on “Strengthening food safety in 
South East European transition countries – A regional approach to food legislation and control” is in 
the final stages of implementation.  The main pr oject outputs include draft food safety strategies and 
action plans, and an assessment of legal status a nd recommendations in each of the countries.  A final 
regional workshop is planned for September 2007 to review the pr oject activities and to enhance 
regional networking and cooperation in the field of  food safety and quality as well as relevant follow-
up activities.  
104. An FAO/AGNS TCP project to improve food safety in the Food Quality and Safety System of 
Armenia and Georgia was approved in early 2005.  The main objectives of the project are to strengthen the priority components of the system  for strategic planning and coordination of food 
control activities, harmonization of food standards,  inspection programmes and laboratory networks, 
and quality assurance programmes in agro-processing sect ors.  Project activities are ongoing and have 
included review of the food control management sy stems, including the preparation of draft food 
control strategies, review of standard setting ac tivities and an assessment of laboratory network.  
 
2. WHO Regional Activities 
The WHO Regional Office for Europe is developi ng the Second Action Plan for Food and Nutrition 
Policy for the WHO European Region, 2007-2012, which is expected to be endorsed by the Regional 
Committee in September 2007.  
 105. The Project “Strengthening Food Safety and Nu trition Services in SEE”, as a part of the SEE 
Health Network, was established with the sup port of the Council of Europe and WHO Regional 
Office for Europe, under the framework of the Stability Pact Initiative for Social Cohesion.  
Component one of the Project “Strengthening Fo od Safety and Nutrition Services in South-eastern 
Europe” ended in December 2006.  Component Two,  “Establishing a harmonized and an integrated 
model for food safety and nutrition systems“, started in January 2007.  
106. The WHO Regional Office for Europe, in co llaboration with the WHO Mediterranean 
Zoonosis Control Programme (MZCP), held a tr aining course for the South Eastern European 
countries on “Introduction in Food Safety and HAC CP” in Athens, Greece, 5-9 March 2007.  An 
advanced follow-up course will be held for the South Eastern European countries and Greece in 
Cyprus in October 2007.  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 17 
 
 
  107. The 3rd Workshop of the South Eastern Europe (SEE) Health Network on Food Safety and 
Nutrition (FSN) was held in Chisinau, Moldova fro m 17 to 18 May 2007.  The meeting, which was 
funded by the Swiss Government and hosted by the Moldovan Ministry of Health, addressed 
“Challenges in the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Policies in SEE”.  
108. The WHO Regional Office for Europe funded a mission to Turkmenistan in May 2007. The 
objective of the mission was to make a detailed analysis of the current food safety systems in place, 
including legislation, covering the entire food chai n, from primary production to consumers including 
export/import markets, and based upon this analysis, develop an action plan.  
109. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is funding translation/printing of the WHO Five Keys 
to Safer Food poster and manual into Lithuanian and Polish and is also funding national training 
activities in Lithuania and Poland for specific audi ences on the WHO Five Keys to Safer Food.  
110. An introductory training course on Total Diet Studies (TDS) addressing chemical food safety 
issues is planned to be held in Cairo in Oct ober 2007 for countries within WHO EMRO and EURO.  
111. The WHO Regional Office for Europe, in co llaboration with the WHO Mediterranean 
Zoonosis Control Programme (MZCP), is planning to  hold a training course on “Introduction in Food 
Safety and HACCP” for Russian food safety experts and possibly experts from other Russian 
speaking countries in Moscow in November 2007. 
 
3. National Activities  
(a) National projects  
112. An FAO TCP project TCP/AZE/3101 "Food safet y capacity building in Azerbaijan" was 
approved in April 2006. The project objectives ar e to strengthen national capacity for strategic 
planning and coordination of food control activiti es, to ensure the adequacy of food law and 
harmonized food standards, and ensure complianc e through development of effective inspection 
programmes, laboratory network, and quality assurance programmes in agro-processing sectors. 
Project activities are ongoing.  
113. An FAO/AGNS TCP project to provide assistance in improving a laboratory of safety and 
quality of food and agricultural products in the Uk raine was initiated in Marc h 2005 and is scheduled 
for completion in early 2007.  The project aims to a) provide on-site technical advice in planning and 
organizing the new Ukrainian Laboratory for Qualit y and Safety of Food and Agricultural Products; 
b) provide assistance in preparation for accreditation of this laboratory according to ISO 17025; c) build capacities of laboratory technical staff in specif ic advanced analytical techniques; and d) create 
awareness and develop effective dialogue about food  safety related issues among all stakeholders. 
114. In October 2006, at the request of the Albanian Ministry of Heath, the expert team of the 
Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe project provided technical advice to the government on their draft Food Law and Food Control System. 
 
(b) National workshops  
115. A one-day seminar on risk analysis and organi zation of food control systems was held in 
October 2006, in Croatia. FAO supported the workshop through funding and technical support.  Over 
250 delegates attended the workshop representing all key stakeholder groups in Croatia and G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 18  
 
  discussions focused on issues including roles and responsibilities and different means of enhancing 
coordination. 
116. The WHO Regional Office for Europe, in collabo ration with the Ministry of Health in 
Bulgaria and the National Food Institute in Denmar k, funded a laboratory training course on chemical 
food safety in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 16-19 April 2007 for 12 Bulgarian food safety experts. 
 
4. Upcoming Activities/Projects 
117. A bilateral project between Albania and It aly, with FAO (AGNS) as the implementing 
agency, is currently in the final stages of appr oval.  The project seeks to strengthen the Albanian 
national food control system, in particular the laboratories.   
118. In response to a request from Belarus for tec hnical assistance in strengthening national food 
control activities, and the assessment of food s derived from biotechnology, an FAO assessment 
mission visited Belarus in May 2007.  Based on the assessment of needs, and discussions with 
national authorities, a project proposal will be drafted.  
119. Biennial Collaborative Agreements to devel op National Food Safety Strategies have been 
signed between the WHO Regional Office for Europe  and the Ministries of Health of Bulgaria, 
Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,  Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, 
the Russian Federation, Serbia and Uzbekistan for the period 2006-2007.  With further funding 
availability, activities will also be implemente d for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and 
Turkmenistan. 
120. The EU CARDS project, implemented by the WHO Country Office in Albania to reinforce 
Albanian Veterinary and Phytosanitary Border In spection Services, was extended until early 2007.  
Possible launch of a follow up project is being discussed.  
121. A publication summarizing all accomplishments in the SEE countries regarding food control 
systems will be published.  This publication will provide important information on the deliberations, conclusions and recommendations of each country in the South East Europe Network, needed to ensure 
an effective science based food safe ty and adequate nutrition system. 
122. In response to a request from the Government of Romania, FAO provided direct technical 
assistance on the strengthening of the national Code x programme in Romania, during a half day 
seminar organized in May 2007.  
123. In preparation for the 26
th Session of CCEURO, FAO/WHO will collaborate with the 
Governments of Switzerland and Po land to organize a training course on Codex for countries in the 
region.  The course is planned to take place during the second half of 2007.  
124. FAO is planning with the International I ndustry Academy (IIA), Russian Federation, an 
international conference on food safety.  Tentative dates for the conference are early June 2008.  The 
conference programme will address topics related to  the management and implementation of food 
control systems to ensure safe food and consum er protection.  Specific issues may include 
harmonization of food standards, risk analysis pr inciples and practical application, and food safety 
management systems within the food industry.  
  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 19 
 
 
  D. LATIN  AMERICA  AND  THE  CARIBBEAN 
1. FAO Regional Activities 
(a) Regional workshops 
125. FAO organized a subregional training course on “Enhancing Participa tion in Codex” in 
Antigua and Barbuda, from 6 to 9 June 2006.  The ob jective of this course was to strengthen national 
Codex activities in the region and to  enhance participation in the st andard setting work of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission.  Further information may be obtained from the FAO website:  www.fao.org/ag/AGN/food/ meeti ngs_ workshopsho ps2006_en_stm. 
126. A regional training course to strengthen the nati onal and regional capacity in analysis of the 
PFGE profiles was held in Buenos Aires from 19to 23 June 2006.  The workshop also gave emphasis 
to the exchange of relevant information regard ing the sample in clinical aspects (symptoms), 
epidemiological (time, place and person) and labo ratory aspects (origin of the sample, serotype, 
phagetype, type of toxin, antimicrobial resistance profile).  Further information is available from: 
www.panalimentos.org/pulsenet/.  The next meetin g and workshop will be held in Brazil from 11 to 
15 June 2007. 
127. A regional workshop to increase capacity in Latin American countries in the area of 
knowledge synthesis and translation, through the application of tools designed to improve public 
health decision making was held in  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in Oct ober 2006 in collaboration with the 
Public Health Agency of Canada and WHO.  Th e workshop provided hands-on training in systematic 
reviews and meta-analysis to food safet y regulators from MERCOSUR countries.  
128. An FAO/OIRSA/PAHO regional training course was implemented in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 
6 October 2006. 42 participants from 19 Latin American countries attended the training course. 
129. FAO/AGS organized two Centra l American Workshops on “Cos t-effective technologies and 
good management practices for improvi ng quality and safety in small a nd medium agro-industries”. The 
first workshop was held from 16 to 19 January 2007 in León, Nicaragua and was attended by 31 trainers 
from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hondura s, Nicaragua and Panama.  The second workshop 
was delivered to managers and leaders of SME from the same countries and took place from 26 
February to 1 March 2007.  These activities were realized under the project “Improving food quality and 
safety management along the fruits and vegetables chain through capacity  building in the SME sector, in 
Nicaragua” funded by the Government of Norw ay through the Programme  Cooperation Agreement 
(PCA) with FAO and im plemented by AGS.  
130. An FAO/WHO-PAHO Workshop on Determination of Equivalence of Sanitary Measures and 
Control Systems took place on 12 November 2006 prior to the 15
th Session of the FAO/WHO 
Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Ca ribbean.  Further information on the workshop 
is available from:  www.fao.ag/a gn/food/meetings_workshops_en.stm. 
131. A regional seminar on Food Safety Risk Communication, organized by FAO/AGNS and RLC 
took place at the FAO Regional Office for Latin Amer ica and the Caribbean from 7 to 8 May 2007.  
132. A regional workshop on Capacity Building Need s on Food Safety, Plant Health, and Animal 
Health (Biosecurity), organized by FAO/AGNS and RLC, was held at FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean from 9 to 11 May 2007.  
 G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  2. WHO Regional Activities 
133. A subregional training course on the WHO-G SS programme was held in Guatemala from 
19 to 23 March 2007 with the participation of six Central American countries, Cuba, the Dominican 
Republic and Mexico.  The objective of the course was to train the clinical laboratories in standardized protocols in Salmonella, and Shig ella.  During the course a joint workshop with 
epidemiologists of the countries was held to train and develop protocols in the burden of illness for 
food-borne diseases. Further information is av ailable from: www.panalimentos.org/salmsurv. 
134. WHO and OIRSA have been working with the Central American countries since the 
beginning of 2006 on a harmonized food code for the region.  A seminar was held in Panama from 23 
to 25 November 2006 to validate the Central Amer ican food code.  A consultant was hired and is 
currently incorporating countries’ comments into one final document.  
135. A regional workshop to increase capacity in Latin American countries in the area of 
knowledge synthesis and translation, through the application of tools designed to improve public 
health decision making was held in Costa Rica, from 4 to 8 June 2007.  The workshop provided 
hands-on training in systematic re views, meta-analysis and risk assessment to 30 participants from 
Latin American countries. 
136. A pilot project for the adaptation, validati on and adoption of WHO’s Five Keys to Food 
Safety has been implemented in urban and rural primary schools in Guatemala and Venezuela since 
July 2005.  The WHO’s Five keys to food safety ma nual has been adapted as a result of the project in 
Guatemala.  A teacher’s guide with training/learni ng activities has been produced, as has a guide to 
help parent advisory councils have healthy sc hools.  The project is being executed with extra 
budgetary funds from DFID obtained through WHO.   Additional information can be found at 
http://www.paho.org/Spanish/AD/DPC/VP/fos-5-claves-afiche.htm.  
137. With extra-budgetary funds from the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development   
Organizations (AGFUND), PAHO/WHO is conducting a project on food safety in municipal markets 
in Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Paragu ay.  Specific project outputs in Bolivia include: 
methodology for evaluating basic hygiene and san itation, and knowledge, a ttitude and practices 
(KAP) of food handlers, together with traini ng/learning modules for food vendors and consumers.  
 
3. Regional projects 
138. Two FAO subregional projects to strengthen the analytical activities, laboratory quality 
assurance and capacity building of the Inter-Ameri can Network of Food Analytical Laboratories 
(INFAL/RILAA), commenced in December 2004.  Th e main objective of these projects is to assure 
that the laboratories provide reliable analytical resu lts for the national food control system, as well as 
for the certification of food imports and exports.  The project is implemented by the FAO Regional 
Office for Latin America and AGNS.  
139. A subregional project to strengthen the analy tical activities, quality assurance and capacity 
building in the English-speaking countries in th e Caribbean is currently in the approval stage . 
 
4. Other regional activities 
140. With FAO’s support, the Latin American  Food Composition Network (LATINFOODS) 
continued working on the update of the Regional Food Composition Table which is available from:  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 21 
 
 
  www.fao.org/Regional/LAmerica/bases/alimento/def ault.htm.  A CD-ROM with this table was 
published and distributed.  
 
5. National Activities 
141. FAO is supporting the Instituto de Ciencias Biom edicas, Universidade de Sao Paolo, Brazil, 
in the implementation of a study on Biomass, phenotypical and genotypical characterization of V. 
cholerae , V. parahaemolyticus  and V. vulnificus  isolated from water, zooplankton and bivalves 
samples from Sao Paulo Coast, SP that will contri bute to the filling of some gaps identified by 
JEMRA. 
142. Since June 2006 FAO/AGNS has been providing advice to Costa Rica on the harmonization 
of standards based on risk assessme nt for additives and contaminants, as well as advice to the national 
Codex Committee of Costa Rica and to the Central Am erican region. FAO also provided a consultant 
to assist with the regional seminar on the Co dex General Standard for Food Additives and 
Contaminants which took place in San José from 12 to 14 June 2006 and was jointly organized by 
FAO, in collaboration with the Ministerio de Ec onomía, Industria y Comercio and the Ministerio de 
Comercio Exterior.  
143. In August 2006 FAO, in collaboration with th e National School of Biological Sciences, 
Mexico, implemented a training course on the application of risk analysis at international level.  The 
course was intended for food control managers, sc ientists, representatives of food industries and 
consumer groups to make them aw are of the importance of the ri sk analysis framework and its 
application at the international level.  Further in formation may be obtained from foodquality@fao.org. 
144. FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname held a 
five-day workshop in Paramaribo from 31 July to 4 August 2006.  The work shop addressed a practical 
approach to improving the quality and safety of fr esh fruits and vegetables. A similar workshop took 
place in Dominica in November 2006.  More information may be obtained from: www.fao.org/ag/agn/food/meetings_en.stm. 
145. WHO held national seminars on the burden of  illness in food-borne diseases in Paraguay (24 
to 26 October 2006), Costa Rica (30 to 31 Oct ober 2006) and Peru (21 to 23 November 2006).  
 
6. Field Projects  
146. The Ministry of Agricultural Development in  Panama requested FAO (AG/AGNS) assistance 
in the area of food safety, animal and plant hea lth.  The project commenced in May 2006 and is 
scheduled for completion in May 2008.  
147. The Government of the Dominican Republic  requested FAO (SLC/AGNS) assistance to 
strengthen the food trade sector.  The project was approved and implementation commenced in 
September 2006.  A TCP project has also recently been approved to complement the development of 
the sub-component on food safety in strengthening the national food control system.  The project will 
be implemented with the assistance of the FAO Subr egional Office for the Caribbean in the upcoming 
months.   
148. An FAO project to strengthen the biosecurity framework in Belize was initiated in April 2006 
and is currently ongoing.  The objectives of this pr oject are to: support the up-dating of the biosecurity 
legal framework and strengthen the national capacity  for effective implementation of biosecurity G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 22  
 
  approaches and system.  The project is led by the FAO Development Law Service, with AGNS 
providing technical support.   
149. An FAO/AGNS TCP project on the prevention of mould formation (Ochratoxin A-OTA) in 
coffee in Ecuador  started in July 2004 and was completed in December 2006.  The project was 
implemented with the participation of the public a nd private sectors.  The main objective was to create 
awareness at the national level of the effect that mo uld formation in coffee, due mainly to Ochratoxin 
A, could have on public health, as well as the subsequent economic and social implications.  
150. An FAO TCP project to provide technical assist ance to the nutmeg industry in Grenada was 
approved in March 2004 and is scheduled for completi on in mid-2006.  The objective of the project is 
to enhance farmer returns from the production of  nutmeg and mace, through improving the overall 
quality of these products and their oil extracts for international trade and minimizing the 
environmental contamination due to nutmeg process ing by-products.  The project is implemented 
jointly by AGNS and the FAO Agricultural and Food Engineering Technologies Service.  
151. FAO/SLAC has been assisting in the Estab lishment of a National Codex Committee in 
Jamaica and will assist the Jamaica Bureau of Standa rds in preparing its Plan of Action for the Codex 
National Committee.  
152. An FAO/subregional project on “Improving the food safety of street foods through 
establishing a food inspection system based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point 
(HACCP) system in Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries” commenced in September 2005.   
153. Based on results of several studies to identif y the main safety and quality issues in the 
production and marketing chains for a range of fru its, vegetables, spices and oil crops in Latin 
America and the Caribbean countries, a Regiona l Workshop was organized by FAO/AGS and the 
FAO Regional Office.  This workshop was aimed at  awareness creation and identifying the issues to 
be addressed, as well as the planning an d initiation of specific programmes.  
 
7. Direct Cooperation with Developing Countries 
154. Two activities have been completed so far as part of the food quality and safety activities in 
AGST/FAO, one for Nicaragua and the other for Co sta Rica, regarding comparative studies on the 
incidence and causes of food-borne diseases related to popular foods, with a methodological analysis of the technical causes and economic impacts. 
155. FAO/AGS facilitated the follow-up and technical  assistance in Nicaragua to the agro-
industrial SME that attended the workshop on “C ost-effective technologies and good management 
practices for improving quality and safety in small and medium agro-industries” from Nicaragua.  These actions are aimed at reinforcing the capab ilities and skills developed during the workshop and 
fostering a monitoring system among the involved pa rticipants in order to strengthen information 
sharing on food safety and quality in FFV.   G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 23 
 
 
   
8. Upcoming Activities/Projects 
(a) Field projects 
156. The Government of Argentina has also request ed assistance from FAO (AGNS) to assist the 
city of Buenos Aires in training in food hygiene and nutrition.  The project is in the formulation 
phase.    
157. The Government of Dominica has requested assistance from FAO in the area of coffee 
production development.  The project is currently in the formulation phase.   
158. A regional project for capacity building in Latin  American consumer or ganizations is being 
prepared by FAO and Consumers International Latin American Regional Office. 
159. The Government of Nicaragua has requested assi stance with the prevention of OTA in coffee.  
The project is currently in the formulation phase. 
160. FAO/AGS is currently formulati ng a project in Uruguay on strengthening the agri-food chains 
suppliers to national food and nutrition programme s, with emphasis on those directed to primary 
schools.  One of the objectives of the project is to improve the quality and safety of foods delivered to 
schools, including nutritional quality, as well as those properties of benefit to children’s health.  
161. The Ministry of Trade and Industry in Trinidad and Tobago has requested technical assistance 
in the food and beverage industry in the form of consultancy services to create a unified Food Safety 
Authority and in the development of a national food safety programme.  Similar assistance has also 
been requested in the fish and fish processing indus try to update regulations for food safety standards 
in fish and fishery products and to develop a Fi sheries Management Plan for Trinidad and Tobago. 
162. A regional project for “Strengthening the national Codex Committee and national Codex 
Contact Point” in the counties of Dominica, Gren ada, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the 
Grenadines is currently under elaboration by  the Subregional Office for the Caribbean.  
E. NEAR  EAST 
1. WHO Regional Activities 
163. WHO/EMRO provided assistance to Member Stat es by facilitating national training activities 
covering areas such as:   
• increasing capacity for food safety awareness campaigns;  
• safe food production techniques using HACK;  
• draft comprehensive harmonized food legislations;  
• strengthening surveillance system of food-borne disease outbreaks;  
• inter-laboratory seminars on analytical quality;  
• national strategy on control of high risk products; 
• food quality management system using ISO sy stem and consumer food safety information 
centres.  WHO awarded fellowships in the fi eld of risk assessment, and in the area of 
materials in contact with food and water and surveillance of pesticides residue in food. G/TBT/GEN/54 
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164. In the Eastern Mediterranean area WHO assist ed Member States in activities such as:  
• detection of radiation contamin ation of food and setting nationa l standards for radiation;  
• establishment of food quality management system and training food inspectors on risk 
assessment, food microbiology laboratory improvement; 
• WHO/EMRO conducted a consultation on the food safety legislation manual for its 
validation; 
 
165. WHO/EMRO assisted Member States in improving their food safety programmes for sending 
technical consultants to Somalia, Sultanate of Oman  and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of 
import and export certification systems docum entation and consumer education.   
166. WHO/EMRO provided capacity building in the form of fellowships in the field of food 
safety. Five fellows, two for food safety standards and three for analytical and testing capacities for 
laboratories, were engaged in the fellowships.  
167. WHO/EMRO conducted a training workshop on WHO Global Salmonella Surveillance Level 
IV. 
168. A workshop on food safety harmonization in the food import management information 
system was conducted in Oman covering import fo od certification, food traceability, and roles and 
responsibilities of the concerned agencies. 
2. FAO Regional Activities 
169. In collaboration with the Agence Nationale de Contrôle Sanitaire et Environnemental des 
Produits FAO/AGNS and RUNE organized a subr egional workshop in Hammamet, Tunisia from 
11 to 16 September 2006.  The workshop was intended for the French speaking countries in the Near 
East and provided capacity building using the recen tly developed training pack “Improving the quality 
and safety of fresh fruits and vegetables”.  
170. FAO, in collaboration with the Jordanian Institu te for Standards and Metrology, organized a 
regional workshop on “Food safety risk analysis” from 13 to 14 November 2006 in Amman, Jordan.  
3. National Activities 
171. In 2006 FAO/AGNS provided support to Algeria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates in 
the organization of their national Codex committees.  Support was also provided to Qatar and UAE in 
the review of its food control system and the fo rmulation of a series of recommendations towards a 
restructuring of the systems for more efficiency  and to reflect modern approaches to food safety 
management.   
4. National seminars/workshops 
172. FAO organized two national workshops on Codex for senior officials in  Aqaba, Jordan in 
collaboration with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone  Authority from 11 to 12 November 2006, and in 
Tehran, Iran from 3 to 5 December 2006. 
5. Field Projects 
173. FAO/AGNS has received a request from the Gove rnment of Libya for assistance in the area 
of food safety and harmonization of standards. The project is in the formulation stage.  G/TBT/GEN/54 
 Page 25 
 
 
  174. The second phase of an FAO/AGNS project to  support the Management and Control of 
Pesticides, Animal Drug and Chemical Residues in Foodstuffs in Iran commenced in 2002.  The objective of the project is to promote the applica tion of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) in the use 
of pesticides and Good Animal Hu sbandry Practices (GAHP) in the use of prescribed animal drugs 
and to enhance the government’s capabilities in the monitoring and control of residues (pesticides, 
animal drugs and other chemical residues) in foodstuffs.  
175. FAO/AGST, in collaboration with  AGNS and other Services, prep ared a Trust Fund Agreement 
project proposal for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the development of the Food Industries Section at 
the National Research Centre for Agriculture and An imal Resources in Riyadh.  The project document 
was finalized and discussed in 2006. Approval and budget allocation from the Government is pending. 
6. Upcoming Activities/Projects 
176. The Government of Egypt has requested assistance from FAO (AGNS) in Strengthening 
Quality Control Systems for Cereals and Groundnut s.  The request is in the review stage. 
177. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have requested assistance from FAO (AGNS) 
in establishing a regional risk assessment body and in reorganizing the food control system.  The 
project proposal is currently in the review and formulation stage.   
178. An FAO (AGST/AGNS) project on the Developmen t of the Food Industries Division at the 
National Agricultural Research Centre in the Kingdom  of Saudi Arabia has been formulated and is 
currently under consideration for funding under UTF arrangement.  
179. FAO, in collaboration with the World Fish Centre, organized a regional workshop on “The 
safety and quality of fish and fish products” in Cairo from 15 to 19 April 2007. 
180. FAO, under its emergency programme, will be or ganizing three workshops for Iraqi officials 
on issues related to food safety during 2007, the fi rst of which was on the Codex Alimentarius and 
took place in Jordan in March this year. 
 
F. SOUTH
 WEST  PACIFIC 
181. The FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific (S APA) continued to respond to the needs and 
requests of member countries through a range of assistance including training and capacity building, provision of information, guidance and other normative  information, specific technical advice and in 
some instances provision of technology. Emphasis has been placed on a coordinated approach in close collaboration with international and regional partner agencies drawing on the comparative advantage 
of each agency where possible to strengthen national food safety capacities. 
 
1. FAO Regional Activities 
182. Funded through the FAO Regional Programme for Food Security, a multi-disciplinary team 
of experts developed a legislative template to guide countries in reviewing and strengthening their 
national food control systems.  This trade fac ilitation work continued through development of a 
methodology and implementation of a series of commodity chain studies focusing on selected 
regionally relevant food products for import substit ution, export potential and food security needs. 
Additionally, a food legislative template was deve loped to help guide countries in developing their 
own broad food strategies and ultimately effectiv e legislation, which embraces a spectrum of G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 26  
 
  technical areas and components that form a comprehensive national food control system.  Outcomes 
of the commodity chain studies and food legislativ e template were presented and discussed at a 
regional workshop involving 59 participants from 13 P acific Island Countries, held in Suva, Fiji (5 to 
7 February 2007).  
183. As in previous years, FAO, in close coope ration with other devel opment partners (SPC, 
IFAD, NZ Government, PIFS, FFA, PITIC) contin ued to conduct the annual Roundtable Meeting on 
WTO and Regional Trade Agreements Provisions for Pacific Island Countries.  Two meetings were 
conducted in 2005 and 2006, followed by a one day field trip in Auckland, respectively.  The 
meetings aimed at enha ncing understanding and kn owledge of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS) an d Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and also 
provided an opportunity to brief countries on the outcomes of the ongoing WTO negotiations and the 
possible implications of the decisi ons made during these negotiations.  
184. A subregional seminar on “ Developing Food Standards within a Risk Analysis Framework ” 
was held in Apia, Samoa from 24 to 28 July 2006.  The training course involved a total of ten participants from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samo a, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.  The 
activity was made possible through funding from the Standards and Trade Development Facility 
(STDF project 9, Rev 1).  This project involved th e development of a training manual on risk analysis 
and a pilot course each for the Asian and Pacific regions. 
185. In response to a request from the Kingdom of Tonga, two months of legal technical assistance 
was provided in mid-2006 to review the existing na tional legislative framework for food safety and 
food quality control, and related regulations of Tonga against th e provisions and obligations of 
relevant international agreements.  Based on th e legal review and a consultative process with 
stakeholders, a National Food Act and essential Regul ations for Tonga were drafted, taking into 
account Codex principles, standards and related texts.  Technical assistance is currently being provided 
to the Government of the Solomon Islands to  revise the draft food hygiene regulations.  
186. A Letter of Agreement was signed between FAO and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and 
Labour, Government of Samoa, in their role as Regional Coordinator for CCNASWP, to carry out a 
regional study to assess the capacity building needs of the Pacific Codex member countries.  The 
findings of the study were presented at a works hop (9 October 2006) preceding the Ninth Session of 
the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific.  
187. A multi-country contaminant monitoring stud y programme was conducted to enhance the 
information available to Pacific island countries regarding hazards associated with food commonly 
consumed in the region, which was built on the cu rrent effort to address mercury contamination in 
fish in some Pacific island countries.  
188. Activities in relation to strengthening their food safety policies, legislation and standards are 
mainly conducted in some Pacific countries, in cluding Nauru, Cook Island and Solomon Islands, and 
some other Northern Pacific island countries and areas.  
189. Efforts to enhance food safety education based upon the Five Keys to Safer Food have been 
in progress in some Pacific countries, in which th e major activities include food safety education in 
schools.  
2. WHO Regional Activities 
190. A WHO implemented and ADB funded progra mme of work in China on a strategic 
framework for food safety in China has been conc luded and the arising guidance provided for high 
level consideration in China.   G/TBT/GEN/54 
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  191. Food safety legislation was drafted and enacted  in Nauru and Kiribati and drafted in the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands . Food safety regulations have b een drafted in Cook Islands, and 
Nauru and Kiribati.  Food standards are in the pr ocess of being drafted in the Federated States of 
Micronesia and Fiji. Guidance manuals addressing the management of food recalls and the investigation of food complaints have been drafte d and are now being reviewed for finalization.   
192. A meeting of the Northern Pacific Environmenta l Health Association was supported in Guam 
to address a coordinated approach to strengtheni ng legislation, food-borne diseases surveillance, and 
monitoring of hazards in food in the Northern Pacific countries and areas of Kiribati, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and Pala u.  An agreement was finalized between the Pacific Islands Forum 
Secretariat and WHO to undertake a food standard s gap analysis and plan of action aimed at 
facilitating an increased rate of standard setting a nd at harmonizing the development of standards in 
the Pacific.  To facilitate the advancement of impo rted food control in the Pacific, a draft guidance 
manual for imported food inspection was advanced and training and guidance provided to Papua New 
Guinea in its imported food control efforts.  In  addition, training on imported food control was 
provided to Malaysian authorities. 
193. Training activities in the countries targeted for strengthening their food-borne disease 
surveillance were undertaken in Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.  In 
addition, training in outbreak investigation was carried out in China for Chinese and Mongolian health authorities.  In addition, work has been initiated to  facilitate the sharing of information on food-borne 
disease surveillance and food hazard monitoring between  the countries in the Region.  An automatic 
group e-mail management system on food safety was created and is on trial.  Furthermore it is 
proposed to hold a meeting on enhanced food-borne  disease surveillance networking in Asia in 
August 2007.   
194. Training on risk assessment was provided for Papua New Guinea and on risk assessment of 
chemicals with no reference health standards for Malaysia.   
195. Between October 2006 and March 200 7 the National Centre for Health Promotion (NCHP) in 
Cambodia, Department of Drugs and Food (DDF), Mi nistry of Health Lao PDR, and the Viet Nam 
Food Administration (VFA), Ministry of Health Vi et Nam participated in a Joint FAO/WHO project 
to address food safety education in rural communities.  Training focused on food safety education based upon the WHO Five Keys to Safer Food messag es and information regarding safe pesticide use/ 
reducing residues on fruit and vegetables.  A furt her highlight was the Inter-Country Workshop on, 
“Strategies to Improve Food Safety Education in Rural Communities of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet 
Nam”, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 26-27 Februa ry 2007. In addition, the WHO Five Keys to 
Safer Food were introduced to schools through the health promoting schools initiative in the Pacific 
and Northern Pacific island countries conducted an art competition on food safety. 
3. Upcoming Activities/Projects 
196. Based on discussions at the Regional Trade Fac ilitation Forum hosted by the Pacific Islands 
Forum Secretariat in April 2003, W HO and FAO jointly developed and submitted to the Pacific Island 
Forum Secretariat an integrated project proposal on food standards for consideration by regional trade 
officials.  The project forms part of the Standards and Conformance (S&C) component of the Regional Trade Facilitation Programme of the Foru m Secretariat.  Preparations among concerned 
agencies are currently being finalized and it is expected that the project will commence in 2007. G/TBT/GEN/54 
Page 28  
 
   
197. WPRO will initiate an integrated food project in cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum 
Secretariat (PIFS) on the Regional Trade Facilitatio n Programme.  The project aims to strengthen the 
capacity of the forum countries to establish and en force internationally recognized food laws, standards 
and inspection procedures to promote unhindered trade in safe and wholesome food.  
 
__________